Mavericks finally let Cooper Flagg settle into ideal role with sneaky trade

Cooper Flagg has been sensational during his rookie season, but the road to glory has been somewhat turbulent. The Dallas Mavericks attempted to compensate for the lack of ideal depth at point guard by playing him out of position and inevitably created early hurdles for him to leap over.

Thankfully, with the clock winding down until the 2026 NBA trade deadline, the Mavericks struck by acquiring Tyus Jones in a trade that can help simplify his role.

Flagg's time playing out of position has been beneficial in some ways, as it's helped him improve his court vision, ball handling, and poise when faced with double teams. Though it isn't necessarily the ideal fit for him at this stage of his development, there were virtuous outcomes.

The Mavericks seem to realize how important it is to refine the definition of Flagg's ideal role, however, as they traded for Jones in a deadline deal that clearly prioritized depth at the point guard position.

Jake Fischer of The Stein Line has since reported that the Mavericks actually wanted to sign Jones instead of D'Angelo Russell, but ultimately lost the bidding war to the Orlando Magic.

With Jones finally on the roster, the burden of operating as a go-to facilitator can be more thoroughly alleviated from Flagg's shoulders and an appropriate role can be more adequately outlined.

Cooper Flagg can play more balanced role with Tyus Jones on Mavericks

Flagg has been phased out of the point guard role for some time now, but the lack of ideal depth at the position has remained a hot topic. Ryan Nembhard and a committee of willing passers have taken pressure off of the rookie, but the Mavericks still don't have a player averaging even 5.0 assists per game.

Thankfully, Jones averaged 5.9 assists to just 1.0 turnover in just 26.6 minutes per game between 2022-23 and 2024-25—while shooting 40.0 percent from beyond the arc.

It's an intriguing thought that someone could make the game easier for Flagg, as he's already shown superstar potential. He scored 49 points on 20-of-29 shooting against the red-hot Charlotte Hornets on Jan. 29 and followed by tallying 34 points on Jan. 31 and 36 on Feb. 3.

It's the continuation of a trend that's seen Flagg average 23.2 points on 49.2 percent shooting from the field over his past 22 games—during which time he's also averaged 5.2 assists.

The key to unlocking the current level of Flagg's potential was a combination of Nembhard entering the rotation, Naji Marshall finding his footing, and the Mavericks suddenly having multiple players who could create offense for others. That includes generating easier looks for Flagg.

With Jones, a veteran playmaker who rarely commits turnovers and always seems to find a way to get their teammates involved, Flagg's leap to stardom should be even easier to make.